Ouroboros
by Dark Ride
Summary: When a mysterious woman saves Isabel, getting hurt in the process, the repercussions are far more than anyone could foresee. An eight-part story for the 6th RivaMika Week.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is the first part of an eight-chapter story. I'll post a chapter per day, one for each prompt. I'll go back to updating Not A Victory March after this is done.

 **Prompt:** THE FOOL / "His views are unconventional."

* * *

There were times when Levi cursed Isabel's impulsiveness. She had gone out earlier and was yet to come back. While her outings were a regular thing, this was the first time that she had been gone for so long. The Underground was not a good place to be alone and while majority of the less savoury people knew that Isabel was under Levi's protection, there were always some idiots who could do something stupid.

Farlan was worried as well, looking up from his reading now and then to look at the door. Levi checked the sharpness of the knife he was holding. He would give her another five minutes and then he would look for her. Independence was nice but not if it cost you a life.

There was a heavy thud on the stairs and both men straightened up. There were two voices coming from behind the door and one of them got raised.

"Levi-bro, Farlan, help please!"

Levi was by the door immediately. Isabel stood there, looking guilty and she was supporting someone else, someone Levi had never seen before.

"She's hurt!" Isabel implored and Levi looked the other woman over with a trained eye. She was holding on to her left arm, a tell-tale redness seeping from under her fingers. Her head was lowered but he could see a hint of a bruise on her left temple. From the tense way she stood, he guessed she was trying not to lean on Isabel too much.

"How did this happen?" he asked and the woman raised her face to look at him. The dim light on the stairs didn't let him see many details but he could make out a faint scar on her right cheek. She was still very pretty, looking almost delicate but Levi knew better than anyone that appearances could be deceiving.

"She saved me," Isabel confessed quietly. "Some men were trying to hurt me and she stopped them but she was hurt."

Levi gave a short nod. He shooed Isabel away and took over supporting the injured woman. She was much heavier than he had expected and taller, too. He helped her inside and directed her towards a chair. Farlan had already prepared the necessary supplies and the woman let him treat her injuries with an air of someone who had done this before.

Now that she was inside, Levi could see her better. She was someone new to the Underground. He didn't know everyone personally but her features were unusual enough that he was sure he would have heard of her before. She was the first person with darker hair than him that he had met since his childhood. Her eyes were grey and they returned his searching stare without flinching.

"What exactly happened?" he asked. She raised her hand towards her throat but aborted the movement halfway.

"I was walking down a side street when I heard shouting," she spoke up. "One of the voices was a woman's so I decided to take a look. There were five men and one woman. The woman was cornered and the men had knives. I took them out but one of them got lucky and slashed my arm."

Her voice was steady and she didn't betray any discomfort, even though Farlan was prodding the edges of her wound to check if it needed stitching. She had shrugged her shirt off, leaving her dressed in an undershirt that showed off not only well-defined muscles but also several smaller and fainter scars. This wasn't her first injury.

"What about your head?"

She touched her bruised temple carefully, her face becoming impassive.

"I hit my head earlier. That's why the man managed to hurt me. I got dizzy for a moment and he took the opening."

"When did that happen?" Farlan asked and reached for a small jar of salve, dabbing some of it on the bruise.

"About six hours ago?" she guessed. "But I don't have a concussion."

"And how would you know?" Farlan asked. She shrugged.

"I had one before, I know how that feels. Really," she said, "I'm tougher than I look."

Levi had let them talk. There was something about the woman that made him uneasy. She could fight, she was used to injuries, she knew how to give a clear account of events. His eyes narrowed as he looked her over. Her shirt was a simple white button-up, stained red at the left sleeve. Her pants were white as well, a rather unpractical colour and they were tucked into a knee-high brown boots. Something about that combination sounded familiar.

"If you give me your shirt, I can clean it," he offered. "Isabel can lend you one of her own in the meantime."

She nodded trustingly and handed her shirt over. He turned it over in his hands, noting the faint imprints criss-crossing the chest area. The shirt had been worn under something that used a lot of straps. And with that, he knew who the woman was.

He didn't betray his discovery by reacting. He had to hand it to the MPs, this approach was actually pretty smart. He wondered if the woman had gotten lucky by running into Isabel or if the ambush had been staged.

"I'll have it ready by the morning," he told her. Letting her stay the night was an acceptable risk. She had no idea he had seen through her and he could get a better read on whether she had some kind of a backup or if she was solo. "Unless you have somewhere else to be."

"No, I don't," she replied quietly and she raised her hand to her throat again, her fingers flexing before she let her hand fall.

"You can stay here until you heal," Isabel suggested excitedly. Levi scowled a bit but Farlan caught his eye and nodded a bit. It seemed that he, too, had picked up on something about the woman.

"I don't want to be a bother," she said uncertainly.

"You saved Isabel, it's no bother letting you stay," Farlan reassured her. "There's just one thing."

"Hmm?"

"What do we call you?"

She stared at Farlan for a moment before her eyes flicked towards Levi.

"Sakami. You can call me Sakami."


	2. Chapter 2

**Prompts:** THE HIGH PRIESTESS / "While the world around her is in constant motion, she stands firm in her ground of logic and intuition."  
THE MAGICIAN / "He is the energy that drives; the one who sparks interest."

* * *

"What's up with her?" Farlan asked while Levi was focused on getting the bloodstain out of the shirt. Sakami had been shown into what would have been Levi's room if he actually bothered spending any time in there.

"She's military," Levi replied, flipping the shirt over. "Most likely MP wising up to the fact that a direct approach won't work with us."

"A MP spy?" Farlan said doubtfully. "That doesn't sound like their usual style."

"We made that deal recently," Levi reminded him. "Nobles, MPs, they're all greedy pigs. She might have been sent to keep an eye on us, to make sure we hold up our end."

"What do we do then?"

Levi didn't reply. Even if she was a spy, she had yet to do anything wrong. She had helped Isabel and whether it had been a part of a plan to ingratiate herself to them or not, they owed her for that. Of course, he could also be completely wrong. She could have been just someone with a rough life who had come by the uniform parts by chance.

"Levi?"

"We'll keep an eye on her for now," Levi decided. "If she's an enemy, she won't catch us off guard."

* * *

Three hours of sleep was usually enough for Levi to get by so he was always the first one awake. Farlan would stumble out of his room a couple of hours later while Isabel would sleep in as long as they let her. Thus, when Sakami walked out of her borrowed room early the next morning, Levi was the only one there.

She stopped for a moment when she saw him before she made her way to the table.

"Good morning," she greeted, her voice still rough from the sleep. Levi nodded at her and tossed her the clean shirt. She grabbed it out of the air before it could smack her in the face. She scowled at him briefly.

"Morning," he said. She certainly seemed in higher spirits than the previous night. "How's your arm?"

"It's good. I probably won't even have a scar."

"Even if you did, it wouldn't be a problem for you, would it?"

She looked away from him, clutching her shirt tighter in her fist.

"You don't trust me."

"I don't know you," he countered calmly. "For all I know, all of this is an elaborate plan to kill us."

"Even if I swore on my life I wasn't here to harm you, you wouldn't believe me, would you?"

"Not without a good reason to."

She sighed and her tense posture relaxed.

"I understand. You have an obligation to your friends and I'm a stranger. I'll leave soon, I just want to say good bye to Isabel first."

Levi regarded her carefully. If she was a spy, she was unlike any spy he had heard of. She should be trying to invent reasons to stay close to them, not resigning herself to leaving.

"How did you come to be here?" he asked. She jutted out her chin stubbornly.

"I don't know myself," she said. "No explanation I can think of makes sense."

At least she wasn't trying to outright lie to him. An awkward silence descended upon them. Levi studied Sakami, the way she fidgeted and refused to meet his eyes, the reflexive movements of her hand grasping at an empty space at her neck. She always looked startled when her fingers met nothing but an air, even if the only thing to betray her nervousness were those small twitches he wouldn't even notice if he wasn't watching her so carefully.

That was how Farlan found them almost an hour later, Sakami staring off and Levi watching her like a hawk. He shook his head before taking his seat, engaging Sakami in light conversation. Even if she was a spy sent by the MP, she was their guest and they shouldn't be rude.

* * *

Isabel was reluctant to see Sakami go but the other woman insisted on having to leave. Levi gave her a simple nod but he stood up soon after she had left and followed. This was the easiest way to find out about her. If she was a spy, she would use this opportunity to either connect with her colleagues or to manufacture a reason to come back. Levi didn't intend on giving her the chance.

She was good at going along with the crowds. She slipped through the dimly lit streets, easily avoided the handful of pickpockets, fended off the crude suggestions of some men with a few sharp words and a wicked looking blade she had been hiding in her boot. Levi was reluctantly impressed. She might not have lived in the Underground but she knew how to carry herself.

He got more careful when she ducked into a side alley. He knew it to be a dead end. So far, everything had pointed to her being more than able to take care of herself. Therefore, if she was voluntarily entering a space with no room to escape, it must have been her destination.

Levi crept closer to where she had stopped, using every nook and shadow to hide himself. Sakami had taken a look around before entering the alley but her full focus was now on something else. She dragged out a fabric-wrapped bundle from beneath a rubbish heap, the metallic sounding jingling muffled by the cloth.

She unpacked the cloth and there was the final proof of her origins. A complete vertical maneuver gear, looking worn but well cared for. She was a member of the military.

"I suppose you have no explanation for this either," Levi spoke up, stepping out of the shadows. She had reacted instantaneously, leaping to her feet and drawing the long blade from the scabbard. It was aimed straight at him, no quiver in her arms to betray the panic he could see plainly in her eyes.

"I don't think you would believe me if I told you the truth."

"Try me, Sakami."

He had used the name on purpose. He knew it was a false one and the tiny wince she quickly masked confirmed that.

"I got separated from my squad during a patrol. There was a flash of lightning and when I woke up, I couldn't find them anymore."

Her words seemed truthful enough but Levi hadn't survived for this long by relying on other people's words, especially when the story they told was full of holes. He was about to press her for more details when he noticed the crumpled fabric behind her. It was a cloak. But where he had expected the unicorn of the Military Police, there was the blue and white winged emblem of another branch.

Sakami noticed his look and she slowly lowered her sword.

"I'm with the Survey Corps," she said, confirming his guess. "And I swear to you, Levi, I have no idea how I came to be here."

"Why should I believe you?"

At that, she smiled a bit.

"You shouldn't," she replied. "And you won't have to. I'm going to try and get back to my unit. I'm grateful for the help you and your friends gave me but I can't stay. Good bye."

She picked up the gear, putting it on with a surety of long practice. It would be so easy to let her go and forget about this whole thing. He owed her nothing and yet...

The whole plan with getting the documents from Erwin Smith would go far easier with an inside help. Sakami or whatever her real name was could still be useful to them. Besides, he was starting to get a read on her. If this was a performance to make him pity her, he would at least know to be on his guard.

"How do you plan on getting back? This is the Underground. Getting out is much harder than getting in."

She paused in her movements. She kept her back to him and he had a feeling she was doing that compulsive grasping at her throat. He had noticed she did it when she was unsure or nervous.

"I was going to improvise," she said at last. "I can't rely on anyone but myself."

Isabel was going to be happy. Farlan would see his reasoning and how her presence could be advantageous to them. As for Levi himself, he would be able to keep an eye on her and hopefully find out what she was hiding.

"We could help you," he offered. She turned to him, about to refuse so he quickly continued. "For a price. You know how the gear works beyond the intuitive basics. You'll teach us what you know and we'll help you get out."

She was looking at him with those piercing grey eyes of hers. He met her gaze steadily and was gratified when she looked away first.

"Thank you," she said finally. "I think I'll take you up on that."


	3. Chapter 3

**Prompt:** THE HERMIT / "He resides in the darkness of solitude. He finds comfort in his reflection."

* * *

"The propeller tends to get dirty a lot. Something about the gas residue sticking to the blades," Sakami explained, a maneuver gear dismantled and spread out on the table as she walked the three of them through the basic maintenance.

"What about the firing mechanism?" Farlan asked, tugging at the coiled wire.

"The biggest problems with that are when the anchor gets pulled back. The debris from where it was attached can get pulled in, too and it can jam the mechanism."

Levi sat quietly further down the table, his own gear dismantled in front of him as he systematically went through each piece. He had figured out a lot of that stuff on his own but there were details that he had missed, unfamiliar with the technology as he had been.

Farlan and Isabel had accepted Sakami back easily. After all, Levi could do no wrong in Isabel's eyes and a brief explanation had settled Farlan's own worries. It bothered Levi a lot, the trust those two put in him. He wasn't infallible and one of these days, he was going to fail them.

"Have you ever seen a Titan?" Isabel's curious voice pulled Levi from his increasingly dark thoughts.

"Yes, I have," Sakami replied shortly, setting down a brush she was using to clean the propeller.

"Are they really as scary as people say?"

"Some of them are scarier," Sakami said quietly. She looked to the side, her posture tense. "Most of the Titans are rather simple-minded. Predictable and easy to kill if you're careful enough. It's the intelligent ones that cause trouble. There was an abnormal once that killed close to fifty soldiers. It took a lot to take that one down."

"Have you killed a lot of Titans?"

"Hundreds," she said simply. "I don't keep an exact count. There's nothing glorious about that, just something that needs to be done."

Levi frowned down at his gear. The tone of her voice was familiar to him. It was a tone of someone who did what needed to be done, who was willing to dirty their own hands for an important enough reason. Was that what drew him to her? That feeling of kinship?

The talk among the other three moved to different topics but Levi remained deep in thought.

* * *

If there had been any doubt in Isabel's mind about the woman who had saved her, it had been dispelled by her helping to make dinner. Even Levi had to smile at the childish delight Isabel displayed when Sakami offered to help and then proved she knew what she was doing.

Farlan was the best cook between the three of them. Sakami took that title from him without any effort.

"This is so good," Isabel praised. Sakami blushed and raised a hand to her throat. Levi watched her carefully. At first, he had thought she might have been hurt once and that she was protecting her throat subconsciously. The longer he watched her do it, though, the more he was convinced she was actually reaching for something that hadn't been there anymore. A necklace or a scarf were the most likely objects.

"Now you have done it," Farlan said teasingly. "Isabel won't let you leave, now that she knows how well you can cook."

Isabel stuck out her tongue at him.

"Excuse me for enjoying the food," she huffed. "You're just jealous because sis is better than you at cooking."

"Sis?" Sakami murmured. Isabel turned to her sheepishly.

"Well, you saved me and you are cool and you can cook and fight. You're like a big sister. Do you mind?"

Sakami slowly shook her head.

"No, I don't mind," she said quietly. She smiled at Isabel but there was something shadowed in her eyes. She focused on eating but it was clear at least to Levi that she was just going through motions.

He deliberated for a while on whether or not to approach her about it. By inviting her to stay with them, he had taken on certain responsibility for her. He would ask her if anything was wrong and if she denied it, he wouldn't press her.

* * *

"What is it?" Sakami asked him later on while they cleaned the table. "You look like you want to ask something," she clarified. Levi didn't think he was so obvious but as she had provided the opening...

"Are you bothered by what Isabel said earlier?"

She rubbed harder at a long ingrained stain.

"Not really. It's just... I don't know how long I'll be able to stay. I don't belong here, Levi," she said, looking him in the eyes. "If Isabel gets attached, she'll get hurt eventually."

"You mean when you go back to your squad."

She didn't answer, instead scrubbing even harder. He recognized the avoidance tactic and kept quiet for a while. He had decided not to press her and he had a feeling she wasn't done yet.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to go back," she admitted at last. "Something happened to me and the only explanation I can come up with makes no sense. I'm afraid I can't go back but I also know that I can't stay. I would be tempted to do things I shouldn't do. I would do something selfish and ruin everything. I can't be allowed to stay here."

Levi wondered if he should offer some sort of comfort. She wasn't making much sense but she was distraught. Maybe he could pat her on the shoulder or something. He reached out slowly and put his hand on her shoulder. She tensed for the shortest moment before she put her hand over his and squeezed.

"You remind me of my squad leader," she said. "He's an irksome shorty with a bad attitude but," she paused, her voice changing from teasing to serious. "He's probably the person I trust the most in the world. He cares deeply for people under his command and he would expect me to do the right thing."

She stepped away from him, his hand falling to his side. He felt he should say something but no words came to him. Sakami seemed to understand because she smiled at him and gathered the rags she was using to scrub the table clean.

"Thank you for listening, Levi. It means a lot."

He watched her leave for her room, left with more questions than answers and a nagging feeling that he was starting to trust her despite it all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Prompt:** STRENGTH / "From within her comes the strength that will triumph over all."

* * *

It had been two weeks since Sakami came into their lives. For all that she had insisted on not being able to stay, she wasn't in a hurry to actually leave. She had fitted well with the rest of them and if the circumstances were different, things could have gone on according to the new routine.

But there had already been other plans in motion. Even if Levi could keep Lobov off their backs rather easily, the nobleman had been convinced that Erwin Smith would be coming after them for some reason.

"We need to do a supply run, soon," Farlan mentioned casually to Levi one day. Isabel raised her head and grinned.

"About time. I can't wait to try some of the tricks sis taught me."

"A supply run?" Sakami asked.

"We basically raid some of the wealthier merchants' stores," Levi explained. "Those greedy pigs can certainly afford to take the hit."

"I see. Should I join you?"

Levi deliberated for a moment. She was good enough with the gear to be easily able to keep up with them. But she was a too new addition and his reluctant trust in her was still too shaky. He, Farlan and Isabel had the comfort of the teamwork and proven trust. Sakami didn't.

"Not this time," he decided. "Maybe later."

Sakami nodded, accepting his decision easily. Levi wondered if there would be a later but pushed that thought to the back of his mind. He had other things to take care of.

* * *

Sakami being a Survey Corps member let Levi know that the soldiers from that particular branch were on a completely different level when it came to the usage of a maneuver gear. The cloaked figures stuck close to them in the chase, no matter how much Levi and the others try to shake them off.

He and Farlan had discussed the possibility of this happening and they had devised a plan which they put into action. Splitting up and going three different ways, Levi noticed that he still had two persistent shadows. He had to acknowledge their persistence but it was getting annoying. He was going to do this on his terms.

Zipping through the destitute back alleys, he came to a brief stop next to some debris, pausing to see if the soldiers managed to follow him. He couldn't see anyone but as he was about to relax, someone came crashing through an old window. Levi got a glimpse of blond hair but his attention was on the weight and momentum of the much bigger man. He used it to flip him off himself, looking around for his partner.

He barely had time to dodge the attack from above and the other man sent him crashing into the wall. Levi stayed motionless, trying to lure his attacker into a false sense of security. When that didn't work - the guy was too suspicious for his own good - Levi went straight for the throat.

The man wouldn't have managed to dodge if the other one didn't interfere, using the flat side of the blade to drive Levi back.

"Stop!" he shouted at Levi. "Take a good look around you!"

Levi scowled when two more Survey Corps members entered the alley, pushing Farlan and Isabel in front of them. They looked unharmed and Isabel in particular was giving her captor a hard time, flailing and doing her best to escape despite Farlan's continued attempts to appease her.

The man who was obviously in charge approached Levi.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions. First of all, where did you obtain these?" he asked, holding up the anchoring mechanism of his gear for demonstration. Levi didn't feel like answering him, especially not after he, Farlan and Isabel were bound and forced to their knees.

"Your vertical maneuver gear skills are remarkable," the man tried a different approach when all he had received was silence. "Where'd you learn how to use the equipment?"

Levi hoped their continued silence was pissing him off but when the man stopped in front of him, his tone still had a calm and affable quality to it.

"You are the leader, correct? Have you received any military training?"

Levi merely glared at the ground. If only the guy would talk for a bit longer. He was slowly tugging at his bonds and given a few more minutes, he could work up enough slack to break free. After that, he would show him just how well his training compared to that of the military.

"Your face is telling me that you're plotting the best way to escape."

The bastard sounded almost amused before he sighed and took a step back.

"I wanted to avoid being too rough but..." he trailed off and then the tallest guy stepped closer, grabbing Levi by a shoulder and head and forcing him down. Right into a disgusting puddle of something Levi hoped was just dirty water.

"Let me ask you one more time." There was no trace of amusement in the leader's voice anymore. "Where did you learn to use the vertical maneuver gear?"

Levi kept quiet stubbornly. If the guy thought a little bit of humiliation and pain was enough to make him talk, he was in for a surprise. He heard Isabel take a deep breath but what she shouted was not what he had expected.

"Sis!"

There was a whoosh of air and Levi saw the guy be bowled over by Sakami who took advantage of everyone being focused on the one-sided discussion. She rolled over swiftly, the blade she always carried around in her boot held steadily against the fallen leader's throat.

"Let him go!" she barked out. Levi felt the pressure leave and he straightened himself immediately. He stared at Sakami. He honestly hadn't expected her to take his side over his colleagues.

Colleagues who stared at her like they had never seen her before and not because she was essentially betraying them.

"It seems I had wrong information." The leader sounded very calm for having a sharp blade pressed against his throat. "I was told there were three of you, not four."

Levi focused on Sakami's face. It was completely unreadable, more closed off than he had ever seen it.

"She is new," he said, climbing to his feet. Sakami looked over at him briefly before returning her attention to her captive. She was thoroughly professional and as it turned out, a fantastic liar.

"Could you tell her to let me go and we could try this again?"

Levi nodded briefly and Sakami stood up, quickly coming over to cut their bonds. She stayed on guard the whole time as the man climbed to his feet, rubbing his throat in disbelief.

"Very well," he spoke at last. "I'm Erwin Smith, a squad leader in the Survey Corps and I'd like to offer you a deal."

* * *

The circumstances had been less than ideal but they had an in with Erwin Smith now. Despite it working out, Levi was pissed. And the reason for that was Sakami.

"You lied to me. You lied to us."

"I never told you an outright lie," she shot back. They stood in the main room of their Underground house, Isabel and Farlan making themselves scarce under the pretense of packing their few possessions for the move to the SC base.

"None of them recognized you! You claimed to be from the Survey Corps but they looked at you like you were a stranger to them. Do you mean to tell me none of them knew someone who was supposed to have killed hundreds of Titans?"

Sakami looked away. She raised a hand to her throat and while the sight used to evoke Levi's compassion, now it only served to piss him off even more. He had started to trust her. He had accepted that she was keeping the details of how she had come to be in the Underground to herself, thinking she had a reason for that. But if everything she had told him was a lie, if he had been taken in by her act...

He felt like a complete fool.

"I am from the Survey Corps," she stated quietly, interrupting his thoughts. "I killed hundreds of Titans. And yes, none of the soldiers knew me. Do you know why? Because something happened to me. Because somehow, I am missing years of my life."

"What?"

"The Survey Corps had a different commander when I joined and Erwin Smith was definitely not a squad leader at the time. I didn't lie, I just left out things I couldn't explain."

She glared at him suddenly.

"But it doesn't excuse you from being an asshole to me right now. I proved myself, didn't I? But the only thing you can focus on is that I didn't tell you everything! I never let you walk over me, Levi and I'm not starting now!"

She turned on her heel and stalked over to the door. Levi groaned and rubbed his face tiredly. That could have definitely gone better.

* * *

 **A/N:** Some real life stuff happened so next chapters will be delayed somewhat as well. But the story is outlined and planned out until the end so it shouldn't be too long.


	5. Chapter 5

Look at who's updating this thing at last... I'm doing my own version of NaNoWriMo where I write either a chapter for a WIP or fill an old prompt each day. This fic is getting finished during the first four days of November. If you're wondering about what else I plan on writing, hit up my tumblr: mirime-kisarrastine and look for the tag my-writing.

 **Prompt:** THE TOWER / "A change in the wind that brings forth new beginnings."

* * *

The gender segregation of the Corps' dormitories turned out to be an advantage as were the terrible conditions within. Had these people never heard of sweeping **under** the beds? Focusing on cleaning out their new accommodations allowed Levi to ignore Farlan's pointed looks for over an hour but there was only so much cleaning he could do.

"I wonder how Isabel and Sakami are settling in," Farlan said in a voice that was far too casual. Levi kept stubbornly quiet. "It's a good thing that Sakami knows how the Corps work, even if she wasn't entirely truthful about how she knew."

"I don't like it when people lie to me," Levi finally spoke when it became clear Farlan expected an answer.

"I know," Farlan conceded easily. "It's one of your contradictions. You have great instincts when it comes to people but your people skills are awful. You started to trust her and then she appeared to have betrayed that trust so you lashed out and instead of backing down, she got right into your face."

Levi scowled. Farlan was far too amused about the whole thing.

"Aren't you really bothered by the fact we know nothing about her?"

"But we do," Farlan said. "We know that when it came down to it, she picked our side. No matter her lies, her actions prove she is with us. At least for now. And it means we have an inside source on the Corps that no one but us knows about."

Levi hated to admit it but Farlan was right. The advantages of having Sakami on their side were obvious. He really shouldn't let his hurt pride - and it was that more than anything else - to stand in the way.

"I should talk to her, huh?"

"That's up to you but I think so, too. Not that watching you fall into pieces over her isn't entertaining but we have a job to do."

"I'm not falling to pieces over her." Even to Levi's ears, the denial was just too desperate. And judging from Farlan's snort, he had heard it, too.

"Levi, we've known each other for years. You never acted like this, about anyone." Farlan leaned against the bunk bed and crossed his arms in a deceptively casual pose. "I watched you two the past few weeks, you know. It's like there's this connection between you two that draws you close to each other but then you seem to realize it's happening and one of you pulls away."

Levi didn't say anything. Farlan was perceptive as always and with his outsider's perspective, he saw some things more clearly than Levi himself could. Levi had no rational explanation for why he felt so strongly about Sakami's lies. He had kept telling himself she couldn't be trusted but on some level, he had trusted her regardless.

"For what it's worth," Farlan spoke after some time. "She likes you the best out of the three of us. With me and Isabel, she's always keeping distance. With you, she lets go of her restraint and acts more genuine."

"I remind her of someone she used to know," Levi said, the admission weighing on him for reasons he didn't want to acknowledge. "It means nothing."

Something in the tone of his voice convinced Farlan to drop the whole topic.

* * *

The training later that day went relatively well. Their squad leader was an asshole, no doubt about that, but the other SC members seemed willing to at least give their group a chance. Levi spent most a lot of that time watching Sakami who was rather obviously holding back. He was waiting for an opportunity to talk to her and clear the air.

It didn't come until much later in the evening. Farlan had managed to sneak into Erwin's office to search for the documents but he hadn't found them and he and Levi had agreed the man was most likely keeping them on his person somewhere. It meant they would have to find an opportunity to catch him alone and their best shot at that was going to be the upcoming expedition a few months later.

It meant that reaching some sort of truce with Sakami became paramount. Everyone believed their group of four to be tight-knit and they would eventually notice if there was tension between two members of that group.

Isabel informed him that Sakami remained at the training grounds and practically pushed him to go after her.

"Sis is sad about your argument, go and make up," she told him and Levi very pointedly ignored Farlan's smug 'I told you so' expression.

Sakami was, indeed, still at the training grounds. Everyone else had already left for the night but she was sitting on one of the logs and staring into distance. Levi sat down on the same log but kept his distance. He wasn't used to feeling this uncertain. Uncertainty could get you killed. Being decisive, making a choice and sticking to it, that was what had kept him alive all these years.

"This would be nicer if I still wasn't angry with you," Sakami spoke suddenly.

"I know I was acting like an asshole," Levi admitted. He heard her snort.

"That's because you're an asshole," she said.

"I'm sorry."

"Are you apologizing for being an asshole?"

"No, for how I treated you earlier."

Sakami nodded.

"I know I have no right to expect your trust but it still hurt. There are moments-" she paused but then she powered through her admission. "-there are moments when I feel like I could belong here and that scares me."

"Do you think you can still go back?" he asked, thinking to her strange story and how it didn't make any sense to him. From her expression, both back then and right now, it didn't make any sense to her either.

"I have people who need me. People **I** need, too. I have to believe I can go back."

"I wish I knew how to help you," Levi said quietly and he meant it. No matter how complicated and mystifying his feelings for her were - Farlan was going to pay for making him face up to their existence - she was one of his people now and that meant something.

"Just, keep being yourself," she replied. "That would be more than enough."

"Even if I'm an asshole?"

"I can deal with that," she said and then she suddenly smiled. "I have no problem taking you down a peg if it becomes too much."

It was his turn to snort.

"I'd like to see that."

The silence that fell between them was once again the likes of which they had become used to in the Underground. Levi was glad for that, for more reasons than he would be willing to admit.


End file.
